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Breastfeeding my newborn, due on march12

Hi there,

I have a question here regarding breastfeeding my baby, baby is on due this March 12th 2012. This is my second baby, i was struggled a lot to feed my first one, no milk supply for me, so we started feeding him formula from the day 1 and due to aspiration of milk he is not with me now, i have lost my kid, so this time i dont want to do the same, i am very strong in feeding my second baby from day 1. I have gdm so doctor suggested for c-section this monday, so i am prepared to see my baby, but i am confused whether i can feed my baby this time atleast, pls guide me, if milk supply is not there this time also wt i need to do, suggest me pls. i ill be greatful if i get some idea. i dont want to feed formulas or cows milk, i want to feed my milk to my sweet baby. pls advice. Just 4 more days for me.

Re: Breastfeeding my newborn, due on mar

I'm so very sorry you lost your first baby. How heartbreaking! Many prayers that you and this baby live long, healthy and happy lives!

It can take time for your milk to come in. The first few days your baby will get colostrum in small amounts from your breasts, not milk. But the colostrum is so important! There might not get a lot as far as volume, but it is all they need those first few days. Their bellies are not yet ready to be filled with milk right away. Your milk comes in a few days later though. With my second, it was a whole week before my milk appeared, but I still put my baby on my breast. The baby being on your breast often is also what helps the milk to come in. Don't let anyone tell you that you CANNOT breastfeed, of course you can!

Hopefully someone with experience breastfeeding after a c-section can give you some tips on the best positions so you don't harm your incision, I don't have any experience with that.

Re: Breastfeeding my newborn, due on mar

Take advantage of the lactation consultant while you are in the hospital. If that means you ask for them multiple times a day then do so. That's what they are there for. It is also very common to see a lactation consultant once you're home. It was a lifesaver for me. Good luck to you in a few days!I'm so sorry for your loss. That had to be such a terrible thing to go through.

I am really sorry that you lost your first baby so tragically, and I applaud you for being determined to nurse this baby. Educating yourself ahead of time can make all the difference in your experience. The most important thing to know is that unless a woman is already nursing an older baby, she is not going to have milk on day 1. But colostrum, the first milk produced by the breast, is the ideal food for a baby, and there is no need to supplement "just until your milk comes in". In fact, supplementing usually delays milk production, because milk production depends on frequent and intense stimulation to the breast. When a baby is full of formula, he/she is unlikely to nurse often enough or long enough to stimulate milk production.

One thing to be aware of is that when a mom has GDM, there is an increased risk of the baby having issues with low blood sugar in the immediate postpartum period. This often leads to supplementation with sugar water or formula, something which is sometimes necessary but should not be routine just because you have GDM. Babies born to moms with GDM often have no blood sugar issues at all, particularly if the mom has maintained tight blood sugar control during pregnancy. So you should discuss blood sugar and supplements with your hospital's staff and with your doctor. Make sure there is a plan in place that requires a heel stick to check for glucose levels before baby is given any supplements.

Also, how many weeks will you be at the time of the c-section, if you agree to have one? You want to make sure you are at least 39 weeks pregnant, because the risk of breathing difficulties requiring a trip to the NICU is much greater for babies born before 39 weeks.

Re: Breastfeeding my newborn, due on mar

I would avoid c-section if at all possible, is the baby too big? I have diabetes, and I have had three natural births just fine.

I am so sorry for your loss, I lost baby boy twins three years ago....and it still hurts.

Just cause your milk is not there doesn't mean you have to supplement....your baby can go up to three days with near to nothing....the more you put baby on breast the best though.

I also highly suggest the my brestfriend pillow if you do have a c-section it will kind of protect your surgical area from being hurt, and help you sit up. Get up and moving asap after c-section as well....get to walking, get off the iv pain medication asap as well-they make you sleepy and harder to nurse a brand new baby when you keep falling asleep! I had one baby c-section (emergency, code blue, cord wrapped around her neck during labor), the dr told me to get up and moving ASAP and things would go better for me. I can tell you I was twice the age of most the mom's on my ward, and I was off the iv and with very little pain in half the time, cause I got up and moved asap. Walking those halls to the NICU (preemie baby). If you do have a baby in NICU go to the NICU every feeding put baby to breast first, don't let them talk you into not doing it cause the baby is too small, the baby is too weak, etc. I know they told me all those things, yet my baby did just fine! She was 4lbs, and she got my milk in fine, she nursed great. I did have to pump milk for her too but, she was able to nurse. With in a few months I was able to transition her to only breastfeeding and no pumped milk. With a c-section, I would also pump if you are worried about milk coming in. I usually say leave the pump alone but after a c-section it can help, especially if you are worried about milk coming in. While my baby was in nicu, I asked the nurses the feeding schedule, I told them I would be there for every feeding except one (she was my 4th child, by her I knew the NICU routine-again I have diabetes so all but one of my children have been NICU babies). My plan and what I did was...I went to every single feeding except one in the middle of the night.

So here was my routine-at the hospital we were at, they fed baby 8 times a day-every three hours. So I went to every feeding except the 2 am one. I would go and nurse my baby, then I would give her the milk I had pumped, then I would snuggle etc with her as much as I could physically do, with her on my breast, skin to skin, etc. Then I would go back to my room, pump, and store in fridge, in that hospital I was given a fridge in my room. Others I've been to only have a nicu fridge, with that you have two options, breast milk can be out of fridge for quite some time, so you can just keep in your room till next visit, or take to the nicu fridge right after. My suggestion is if you want it in the fridge right away send it with hubby, nurse or other trusted person to NICU instead of taking your energy to do that. Otherwise just leave it beside you till you go back to nicu next time, however, I wouldn't tell them how long you have left it out, cause many are uneducated on how long milk can be left out and will dump it when it doesn't need to be! I would lie in this case and just say I just pumped it before coming, yeah...I know...but if you are going every three hours, and spending a hour with baby, and then pumping 20 minutes, it's only been out like 1 1/2 hours! And it's perfectly fine to be out for upwards of 8 hours! At the 2am feeding I just woke up pumped, and had my husband put it away! And I went back to sleep. This gave me some rest I needed to heal from the surgery-c-section.

But, I can tell you doing both, if you can have natural birth, your milk will come in easier, you won't be healing from major surgery, you will feel so much better, it will just be easier all the way around to breastfeed. It's not that it can't be done after a c-section it's just going to make something that could already be off to a rocky start even harder.

Also my last baby is the first that had a slight blood sugar problem at first, he would not eat at breast and his blood sugar kept going lower causing him to have breathing problems, I oked them to give him formula to get it back up to normal, they cup fed him instead of bottle fed him, and that made all the difference in the world, as soon as he got his blood sugar normal, he was breathing well and nursing great and has nursed ever since and never had to have any other formula feeds, or pumped milk even.

Re: Breastfeeding my newborn, due on mar

I'm very sorry for your loss. I couldn't imagine the pain that brings. I don't know much about c-sections or GDM. But I know that with my third little girl, born on 1-22-12, I didn't have a strong milk supply, it didn't seem like I had anything the first 4-5 days. I exclusively breastfed her at all her cues of hunger, or if she slept too long I would wake her. She never showed any signs of hunger and my pediatrician said that she looked good, and assured me that she would make it known if she was still hungry.

Just keep in mind that as long as there are no medical conditions for your baby that may alter standards, then as long as you are offering your breast and your little one is latching on (I've been told anywhere between 5min and 45min can be a feeding) then your baby will let you know if he/she is still hungry.

Another tip is to try to relax, while I was at the hospital everyone was telling me how to feed my daughter, and I appreciated the help, but every nurse had a different opinion. I found that when I went home and got in touch with a breastfeeding peer counselor and an IBCLC and stopped trying to feed her in the "right positions" everything fell into place better.

I wish you luck with breastfeeding this little one, and hope that everything goes as easily as possible for you both

Re: Breastfeeding my newborn, due on mar

If you have to have a c-section, you can still breastfeed. There are often more challenges, due to physical pain, feeling incapacitated, meds, etc., all the issues that go along with having major abdominal surgery. But it is certainly possible, even likely. Mothers who have c-sections still make milk, we go through the same hormonal process, sometimes it is delayed slightly but that is seldom a big deal.

No mother has much milk on the first day with thier baby. We are not designed to have lots of milk right off, what we make and all baby needs the first few days is called colustrum and it is not white, more a gold or clear color, and is very scant, by design. It is dificult to pump colustrum. Many moms never even see their colustrum. That's OK. Baby knows its there. That is how it is supposed to be. And many babies do not nurse at all the first day, although it is best if mom and baby are together ASAP after birth and can at least try. Babies are not born hungry or needing to eat right away. Even if your first baby needed supplements that first day, that does not mean you did not have enough milk or were incapable of making enough milk.

I strongly urge you to contact your local LLL or a board certified lactation consultant (IBCLC) prior to birth, if that is at all possible. You want to know what support is around for you. Yes, take advantage of any lactation consultant you can see in the hospital but be aware these folks are often very overextended. Nurses can be wonderful help but they are just as likely to give you poor advice when it comes to breastfeeding.

Before birth, get the book The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding (8th edition, 2010) and read the first 4 chapters if you can, and at least read chapter 4. Bring it to the hospital to reference if issues come up.

Room in, do NOT let your baby go to the nursery. If baby must, tell them to NOT feed baby anything, (unless medically neccesary and that is a call a doctor should make, not a nurse) to bring baby to you to nurse.

Keep baby right on top of you snuggled in your arms with easy access to the breasts for as much of the time as possible.